Calif. High Court Refuses to Enforce Duty to Warn on Defendants for 3rd-Party Replacement Parts

SAN FRANCISCO -- The California Supreme Court has reversed an intermediate appellate court ruling in a component parts dispute, opining that a product manufacturer cannot be held liable for harm caused by replacement parts manufactured by another party. O'Neil, et al., v. Crane Co., et al., No. S177401 (Calif. Sup. Ct.).

In the Jan. 12 published opinion, the high court opined that California law has never extended a duty to warn of injuries caused by other products that would be foreseeably used in conjunction with a defendant's product.

"Nor have we held that manufacturers must warn about potential hazards in …